Display cabinet



March 22, 1949. v R, EPSTEI 2,4 5,013 1 DISPLAY CABINET Filed Dec. 18, i4e

INVENTOR MLPH EPSTE/N m A9; a.

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES DISPLAY CABINET Ralph Epstein, Bronx, N. Y., assignor to Jacques Kreisler Manufacturing Corporation, North Bergen, N. J a corporation Application December 18, 1946, Serial No. 716,894

6 Claims.

This invention relates to jewelry display cabinets, and more particularly to a cabinet for displaying flexible bands or bracelets for wrist watches or the like.

It is the primary aim and object of the present invention to provide a cabinet of pleasing appearance which may hold for display a considerable number of different flexible bands or bracelets for wrist watches, and which is so constructed as to be to all intents and purposes theft-proof, yet may readily be opened without a key by authorized personnel.

It is another important object of the present invention to make provisions on the outside of the cabinet for quickly placing and safely holding anybodys wrist watch with the band thereon in such relation to any one of the displayed bands that the same appears to the observer as though it were attached to the wrist watch, thus afiording the public the most discriminating demonstration of watch bands without the aid of a salesman.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a reduced, perspective view of a display cabinet embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the cabinet, taken on the line 2-2 of Fi 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section through a mounting board in the cabinet, the

section being taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary front elevational view of the same mounting board.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral l6 designates a display cabinet having a frame which comprises opposite side members I2, a base l4 having recessed ends l6 in which the side members l2 are located and suitably secured as by screws l8, for instance, a front panel 20 which extends between, and is suitably secured to, the side members [2, and a brace 22 which, like the front panel 20, extends between, and is suitably secured to, the side members l2. The several parts l2, I4, 20 and 22 of the frame are preferably made of wood, but may be made out of any other suitable material.

Mounted on the brace 22 by means of spaced hinges 24 is a gate 26 which is releasably held in the closed position shown in Fig. 2 by suitable latches 28, pivotally mounted on the rear edges of the side members [2, respectively, by means of screws 30. Suitably mounted on the opposite side members [2, as by screws 32, for instance, are gibs 34 (Figs. 2 and 3), which serve as supports for a mounting 36 for the articles to be displayed. More particularly, the gibs 34 are L-shaped as shown in Fig. 2, and provide supporting surfaces 38 and 40 for the mounting 36 which rests on these surfaces. The side members l2 as well as the front panel 26 are provided with aligned grooves 42 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) which are to receive the side and bottom margins 44 of a transparent cover 46, the top end 48 of which is curved inwardly as best shown in Fig. 2 and terminates in close proximity to, or may rest on, the top of a display board 50 on the mounting 36. The cover 46 is preferably made of any suitable plastic sheet material which is not readily broken without drawing the attention of a person or persons nearby the cabinet. The mounting 36 may be made of wood, while the display board 56 may be of cardboard and covered on the display side 5i with velvet or any other suitable fabric 52, the ends of which are turned around the edges of the board 50 in the manner shown in Fig. 4, and the display board may be secured to the mounting 36 in any suitable manner, as by cementing, for instance. As shown, the top edge of the display board 50 is serrated as at 54, the same being to that end notched as at and the velvet covering 52 being drawn into these notches in the manner best shown in Fig. 5. The serrations 54 in the top of the display board 56 afford convenient recesses in which to place one of the conventional end or attachment links 56 of wrist watch bands 56 which are to be displayed on the board 50. The end links 56 of the displayed bands or bracelets 58 may be held in the recesses of the serrations 54 by any suitable means, such as plain pins 60 which are stuck into the velvet covering 52 and passed through the end links 56 in the manner shown in Fig. 5. The bands or bracelets 58 are thus suspended from the top of the display board 50 and lie fiat against the latter for impressive display to the public. The displayed bands 58 are naturally of different styles and may advantageously be arranged in groups 56 and 58" for mens and ladies wrist watches, respectively.

Extending parallel to, and in spaced relation with, the top of the mounting 36 are rails 64 and 66 which are preferably mounted by screws 68 on recessed upward extensions 10 of the mounting 36 at the opposite ends thereof (Figs. 2 and 3). The rails 64, 66 are spaced from each other to provide an entrance gap 12.

The present display cabinet l0 may be placed on the counter in a jewelry store, or in any other store in which wrist watch bands may be sold. Any prospective customer may not only view the displayed bands in the cabinet but take off his or her wrist watch and, without removing the band therefrom, place it on the cabinet in such relation with any of the displayed bands therein that the same appears to the observer as though it were attached to the wrist watch. To this end, the customer, a man, for instance, passes the band 74 of his wrist watch 16 through the entrance gap i2 and over the rail 54, drawing thereby the band it rearwardly and upwardly away from the transparent cover 56 in order to place the Wrist watch 76 as closely as possible to the top end of the transparent cover and the band 14 away therefrom, as shown in Fig. 1. The customer may then line up his wrist watch 1'6 with any one or more of the displayed bands in the group 58. After having aligned his wrist watch 76 with any one of the displayed bands 58, the customer may even step away from the cabinet for a better view of his watch and the displayed band with which it is aligned. The wrist watch 76 will be held in position on the outside of the cabinet in that it rests not only against the rail 64 but also against the ledge-like top end 48 of the transparent cover 46. This is clearly apparent from Fig. 2 in which the curved top end 48 of the transparent cover and the adjacent rail form a cradle for the reception of a, wrist watch of most any size for comparative display with the bands 58 in the cabinet. Any prospective customer may thus at his or her leisure, and without any distracting advice from a, salesman, arrange for a most discriminating demonstration of how his or her wrist watch .will look with any one of the displayed bands. The present cabinet has the added feature that it offers to customers a certain and quick indication of which one or ones of the different styles of displayed bands will match with their wrist watches and which ones are not suited therefor. This is in some respects a distinct advantage over personal salesmanship, since it .frequently happens that a sales person demonstrates more in conformity with his or her own, oftentimes poor, taste, rather than in conformity with the customer's taste.

The present cabinet is also constructed so as to be to all intents and purposes theft-proof. To this end, the displayed wrist watch bands 58 are not accessible from the outside of the cabinet due to the transparent cover 46 thereover. Neither may the mounting 36 with the displayed bands 68 thereon, or the transparent cover 46, be readily removed from the cabinet frame, since the mounting 36 may not be removed Without first removing the transparent cover 45 as follows clearly from Fig. 2, and the transparent cover 46 may only be slid from the frame when the gate 25 is opened. However, the gate 26 may be opened only on manipulating the latches 28 which are well hidden in back of the cabinet and not readily perceived by anyone in front of the cabinet.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that various changes may 'be made in the present invention without departing from the underlying idea or principles of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A demonstrator for wrist watch bands comprising, first means for mounting said bands in grouped relation for display, and other means carried by said first means for releasably holding a wrist watch with a band thereon adjacent any displayed band in such relation therewith as to simulate attachment thereto.

2. A demonstrator for wrist watch bands comprising, first means for mounting said bands in grouped relation for display in a plane other than horizontal, a transparent cover over said bands carried by said first means, and other means carried by said first means for releasably holding a wrist watch with a band thereon externally of said cover in selected position adjacent any displayed band in such relation therewith as to simulate attachment thereto.

3. A demonstrator for Wrist watch bands comprising, first means for mounting said bands in grouped relation for display in a plane other than horizontal, a transparent cover over said bands carried by said first means and having a ledge-like extension, and other means carried by said first means and cooperating with said ledgelike cover extension for releasably holding a wrist watch with a band thereon externally of said cover adjacent any displayed band in such relation therewith as to simulate attachment thereto.

4. A demonstrator for wrist watch bands comprising, means for mounting said bands in grouped relation for display in an inclined plane, a transparent cover over said bands carried by said mounting means and having a ledge-like extension across the grouped bands, and a rail secured with one end to said mounting means and extending outside the confines of said cover parallel to, and in spaced relation with, said ledgelike extension thereof, the latter and said rail forming a cradle for the reception of a wrist watch with the band thereon surrounding said rail.

5. A demonstrator for wrist watch bands comprising, a frame having an inclined board on which to mount said bands in parallel grouped relation for display, and a rail secured with one end to said frame and extending transversely of the mounted bands along adjacent ends of the latter and in spaced relation with said board, said rail serving as a rest over which may be passed an attached band on a wrist watch and against which the latter may be held adjacent any displayed band in such relation therewith as to simulate attachment thereto.

6. A demonstrator for wrist watch bands as set forth in claim 5, further comprising a transparent cover secured to said frame and extending over the displayed bands on said board, said cover having a ledge-like extension adjacent and substantially parallel to said rail and extending into close proximity to said board, and said cover extension serving as a support for the wrist watch while the latter rests against said rail adjacent any displayed band in simulated attached relation therewith.

RALPH EPSTEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 751,562 Rood Feb. 9, 1904 756,466 Brewer Apr. 5, 1904 1,787,809 Allen et al Jan. 6, 1931 

